Partner Sub IDs

Last Modified April 23, 2019|
Originally Posted April 23, 2019

Using parameters and macros, you can dynamically store information in and provide information from a click session. Partner sub IDs (also known as affiliate sub IDs) are a subset of parameters and macros used for non-unique values that don’t correspond to any other parameters and macros.

How Partner Sub IDs Work

Partner sub IDs are used to store non-unique values from the publisher’s tracking system, in some cases to forward to an advertiser. For example, TUNE doesn’t have a parameter or macro specific to sub partners or ad placements. To store that data, you use partner sub IDs.

On click, values for these parameters are stored in the session. Once a sub ID value is stored, you can provide it to your advertiser or publisher using the corresponding partner sub ID macro in an offer URL or partner conversion link.

Adding Partner Sub ID Parameters

To add sub ID parameters to a tracking link, go to your offer’s page and find the Generate Tracking panel. Check the box for Add Sub ID and enter the sub ID value in the field that appears. In that panel, you can also view the updated tracking link or click More Sub IDs for additional fields:

The four fields that appear when adding more sub IDs correspond to partner sub IDs 2 through 5 (aff_sub2, aff_sub3, aff_sub4, and aff_sub5), respectively. Here’s an example of a tracking link that contains multiple partner sub ID parameters:

For the above tracking link, the partner would provide you with the appropriate macros from their tracking system to replace the “SUBAFFILIATE” and “SUBPLACEMENT” placeholder values. In this case, they could provide you with macros for sub partner and ad placement that you use to replace “SUBAFFILIATE” and “SUBPLACEMENT”.

Passing Sub ID Values to Landing Pages

You or the advertiser may want to pass partner sub ID values forward into the offer URL. To set this up, go to your offer’s page and find the Details panel. Click Edit and find to the default offer URL. Then insert the {aff_sub} macro as the value of the appropriate offer URL parameter.

For example, your advertiser may want to accept the {aff_sub} macro in their “pubsub” parameter. The offer URL after inserting the macro would look something like this:

http://www.advertiserlandingpage.com/lp2?pubsub={aff_sub}

The same process applies for inserting the values of partner sub IDs 2 through 5 in an offer URL.

Returning Sub IDs on Conversion

Your publisher may want you to return their partner sub ID values via the partner conversion link. To set this up, first go to Partners > Conversion Pixels / URLs. You can add a new link (by clicking Add Conversion Pixel / URL) or edit an existing link (by clicking Edit). Then insert the {aff_sub} macro in the appropriate partner conversion link parameter.

For example, your publisher may want to accept the {aff_sub} macro in their “session” parameter. The partner conversion link after inserting the macro would look something like this:

http://track.publisherstuff.com/conversion?session={aff_sub}

Passing Sub IDs on Impression

Passing a sub ID value on impression works similarly to the passing it into a tracking link. When you add a sub ID in the offer’s Generate Tracking panel, the Impression Pixel field is automatically updated with that sub ID value. You can then copy and paste the pixel code as you would normally when using impression tracking.

Tracking Protocol Limitations

Partner sub IDs do not work the same way with the “Server Postback w/ Partner ID” tracking protocol. Because no transaction ID is passed to the advertiser on click, there’s no single value to link the click with a conversion.

If your offer uses the “Server Postback w/ Partner ID” tracking protocol, then your advertiser must connect partner sub IDs from click to conversion. That is, you need to both pass the partner sub ID to your advertiser (via offer URL) and receive the partner sub ID from your advertiser (via conversion link) before you can provide the sub ID to your publisher on conversion.

We operate on a last-click basis, so the conversion would register for the later click, and "test456" would be the aff_sub associated with that click/conversion pair. Both clicks would still be recorded in your logs.

Affiliates can't have sub-affiliates on tracking links. For that, affiliates would need to run as their own networks. Please contact our customer support team for more information, and they'll be happy to help you out.

I see almost all the information you have is from the perspective of the affiliate and the documentation talks about the relation between affiliate and publisher. What about the advertiser? Does the same information applies for the relation between advertiser and affiliate?